Bass Park to host Maine food show

BANGOR, Maine — Bass Park officials are hoping to cash in on the national groundswell of consumer preference for local foods when they host a Maine food and beverage show next fall.

“There has never been anything like this before,” Bass Park Director Michael Dyer said Friday. He said food shows have been held in southern Maine, but they were not exclusive to Maine-made products.

“We’ve already learned through hosting the Bangor State Fair that people want products from local farmers and local producers,” Dyer said. “People want to know where their food comes from, and they want to support their local farmers.”

Organizer Judi Perkins, who helped Dyer bring back the Bangor Garden Show last year, is on board and will be actively courting farmers and vendors, including Maine wineries and breweries.

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“We’ve only just begun talking to producers and the Maine Department of Agriculture, and already there is great excitement,” Perkins said Friday.

The show is planned for two to three days around Veterans Day next November, Perkins said.

Dyer said the goal is to have 35 to 40 Maine producers sign up for booth space, and he hopes to fill both the auditorium and the civic center.

Perkins said chefs also are being invited to attend the event and showcase Maine foods in their cooking.

Perkins said she will be courting farmers and producers at two major Maine agricultural events in January — the Maine Agricultural Trades Show in Augusta and the Maine Farmers’ Market Convention in Belfast.

“This will be a wonderful way to highlight Maine producers,” Dyer said. From beef to cheese, and from bread to preserves, Maine farmers are producing amazing products, Dyer said.

“I think most people will be blown away with the quality and range of fine Maine-made products,” Dyer said.

Any interested farmer or Maine producer may contact Dyer at 947-555 or at mike.dyer@bangormaine.gov.